Flogging A Dead Horse? RANT ALERT RC Model Geeks 

I'm blind Andrew and even I commented on the lack of young voices around Popham. The issue with model flying, there is too much choice in alternative hobbies. Prices are not the problem when you can buy a four function RC gear for £50, it used to cost five times that in my day and that was real 1970s money. Anyway a complete joy to meet Capt Rob and Saltmarsh pete, I felt immediately at home with them. Good channel, I'm an avid. Regards to all you old modellers.

i am 16 and build models

Think you have summed up the state of our wonderful hobby perfectly Rob. It really is very sad. Only consolation was my 11 year old, computer gaming,son was listening and when he heard what you said about no young people getting involved, he piped up to say that he couldn’t wait for me to finish his UNO Wot and learn to fly it.

I went on Sunday. Not a bad show but you're right , it was very quiet. A real shame,a lack of places to fly and all being banded together as drones hasn't helped

Hello from Trevorton, Pennsylvania, USA. I too am a retired r/c modeller, and I see the same issues here as you do in England. There is ittle to no interest from the younger generation, they prefer electronic games over anything else. I do occasionally fly some micro r/c planes at our local ball fields and no one cares. Kids ignore it, so do the adults. What a shame. They really just don't care for the most part. I often buy and sell planes and equipment to supplement my hobby expenses. Those sales are quite dismal these days too. I have some friends who are telling me the same thing. Nitro fuel is around $38.00 a gallon now-if you can find a hobby shop that has it in stock. Most of the flying clubs in my area are really moving into electric planes now, that has devalued some really nice engines too. The proliferation of decent ARF models has killed kit building, very few guys here are really into building any planes these days. It has become a foam, plug and play hobby. Sorry the the rant, but much like you stated, we are having the same problems in this hobby as we see it here. I am lucky though, my eldest son is actively taking his boys to the flying field and they are getting some stick time. At ages 7 and 5, they are young, but they are showing some interest. By the way, I really do watch and enjoy your down to earth videos. Please keep it going. Regards, Jesse.

The yellow safety vest brigade now rule the world. This filters down to all other areas, sadly that's RC clubs which in all cases seem to go over board with unnecessary rules.

You really are the Ricky Gervais of the model world.. 😁

I went on the Saturday, it was bigger than I thought it would be. Really enjoyable! I’m a newbie modeller having got into control line a year or so ago and it was great to see CL being flown! I took and a non modeller who really enjoyed it. Another non modeller friend took his family (two kids and wife) on my suggestion, and they all liked it and said they’d go next year too!…..he’s now seriously considering the hobby himself. As for buying stuff, I purchased, fuel from southern model craft, odds and sods from balsa cabin, and some tools.

As a young modeller it is quite a shame to see this hobby going downhill nowadays, the glow fuel for my engines costs loads, everyone is old and dying. A real shame, however I still go down the field with dad and still have a good time. It is what you make it

It's all good, we all have to rant every now and then, I rant and rave every day but I think I'm the only one that listens to it, I love the plane building videos, I have to be very honest ROB, I don't have a RC airplane or a RC of anything, I never did, maybe one day I'll get one, if I do I'll have to learn how to fly it, I know things get bizzy in personal life now and then and you have to take time and tend to that stuff, I just like to watch you all build planes, well keep up the build videos and everyone take care 👍🇺🇲

Its sad to see this hobby beeing smaller and smaller each year.Im not a great builder but i still enjoy trying, rebuilding a Ripmax Dagger at the moment.Have tried to get my kid into it but hes lost to videogames like most.

Sorry to hear about the queen passing away 👍🇺🇲

I agree with the sentiment, I had planned to go but like many Popham is just a bit to far for an oldie on a day trip and there was no camping, not any convenient sites in the area either.

Same situation here in the USA.

Bottom dollar estimate based on your numbers is 5k in a day... sounds like a good turn out to me. Plus what ever the vendors paid.. but you are right about the direction of the hobby..

Never been the same since Dave Bishop hung up his boots!!! now those were the days! god bless you Dave & Jan xx

Totally agree with you, the BMFA are not fit for purpose when our local club needed the help they wouldn’t lift a finger. It was left to three of which I was one to save the flying field which we did, and what thanks did we get lol that’s another story. I remember Inwoods during the 90s they had a massive tent at the shows. I saw Dave at Cosford LMA this year he had a couple of tables.

I am 30 years old .i love wooden rc planes best hobby i have .i love building it to👍👍

I think it has a lot to do with restrictions on what and where you can fly , especially here in Australia, everything that is fun the Government shuts it down. To name a few hobbies RC planes, 4x4 tracks and Camping, it’s a bloody shame that our freedom gets taken away like that . My rant for the day 😊

I do see myself as an engineer for sure. I built two of my planes from a kit, all the others were completely scratch built out of the top of me head. Despite being german, i share your feelings about that BMFA crap, should never have been renamed. [edit: and im a 51 year old fart ]

Big problem in Suffolk is trying to find a decent area to fly we have a park were we can fly control line but free flight and RC .Asked BMFA about clubs in area only one or two came up with a closed entry. SMAE for me still got my old number.

I went on the Saturday and enjoyed the show and even spent some Money. However, I only found out it was on because you mentioned it in the comments of another video. I suspect advertising is partly to blame. The first couple of BlackBushe shows were quiet and gradually got well established. Hopefully this will happen at Popham.

Yes great joy and what a buzz showing of and flying ones latest creation. The hobby employs all sorts of skills in the building process, precision engineering and in most cases wood crafting skills. You can make it as complex or as simple as you want depending on the type of model you take on to build. I am 61 and I can remember back in my day a lot of my buddies were building models including flying control-line at our local park but it is a dying hobby, young people aren't "into it" there are to many other distractions, the main culture being computer related games as Rob says Xbox, Play Station, mobile phones, iPads, Android pads. Both my grand children are playing on their iPads downstairs Ive said to them cmon lets go fly the glider on the field but their more interested playing on their game than playing with a boring airplane, I forgot to mention smart phones as well. The hobby needs to be advertised somehow like TV adds lol if the young ones were exposed more to the hobby then maybe it would Take Off again (no pun intended lol). Robs right we should expose more young ones to the hobby plant that seed before we die and this wonderful artform dies with us.

It's sad, and from my perspective it looks the same.. Maybe because we are old goats now - I remember that my father was a similar "optimist" (from experience..) Young @karolos down there gives me hope..

Yes Rob i now what you meen by no kids jonning the hobby we have 2or3 in hour club the rest 50+ or like me 70+ but still like building now i go dizzy on c/l models but fun, but i am fedup with reg's and all that sh+t fling was for fun, glad to see you back

Here are some issues that have caused problems for me and R/C flying, especially in recent years: 1. Recycling of polystyrene foam is no longer available where I live, which means it has to be disposed of in general rubbish i.e. I have to pay an additional fee on top of a model purchase that is packaged in poly. foam. 2. The local flying club is ~45 mins away vs. 5 to 10mins for the local park, plus I'm not interested in the stupidity/arrogance of club politics, paying fees etc. 3. Weather conditions have been terrible in recent years making for less (especially enjoyable) flying time. 4. Due to the pandemic, supply of hobby items takes longer, can be more expensive, or simply isn't available.

"He was so old, it was probably for his coffin" 😂😂😂

I got distracted away from your rant by the beautiful farm scenery and then I spotted what looks like a New Zealand cabbage tree (I'm from New Zealand) in front of the house. Would be interested if you gave us some information on the farm and the history behind it.

There is a frightful social mechanism at work....evil...

My God you are on a downer. I went with my family on Saturday and there was far more than a thousand people turned up to the show. I spent a small fortune with balsa cabin and some other traders. All in all a very good show.

I went to Popham and bought a laser 80 at the bring and buy, stuff from the tool man, a 6 channel receiver from Als Hobbies and lots of other stuff from Balsa Cabin. I think that there was small drone flying in the big marquee at one end. Would be disappointed if the show ends as it was really well organised and Its the nearest show to where I live.

You should do a video of you getting things of your chest 😂. I'm a Droner myself but would love to get into vintage slow flyers.

I have to agree with you on these points. Both my kids can fly but are not interested,it’s not that they sit on the Xbox etc it’s just life is so much busier and so many other things to do now. Why do youngsters want to go to a club with a load of men over the age of 60 playing with toy planes. It is a dying hobby and old man’s sport sadly. The BMFA sadly messed up when they tried to separate them selves from drones and now look at us and what we have to do,instead of working with drone pilots when it first started.

Hi Rob. You may remember I introduced myself and we chatted about stuff including my buying Mark 2s Mirus. I agree that the show was poorly attended. I bought a few bits n pieces and a secondhand vintage job to renovate this winter. I spoke to a few of the traders who all said trade was slower than slow. The organisation was second to none and it was a real shame the turn out was so poor. I don't buy the model mags anymore but I wonder if it was advertised like Wings and Wheels etc? Maybe if the Lma got involved it would attract more. Nice to meet you mate. All the best.

Fully agree with most of what you said must be an "old git" too. BMFA likewise seems to be made up of self important "old gits" who seem to obsessed with daft ideas and developing their HQ rather than genuine promotion of the hobby. (take a look at the work of the Flight test gang).

Sorry you are in such a melancholy mood Rob. Whilst your observations are accurate, the truth is that everything moves on and to keep a hobby going, we need to move with the times. This involves multi rotors, fpv, electric power et al. Building and flying vintage models is great. 1950s rock and roll is great, the memories brought back when one sees a Moggy minor or a Cortina bring a warm feeling to one's heart. However, I prefer my daily drive to be from a year closer to the current year than it is to my birth year and similarly the hobby cannot stay in the past. As you say, the hobby needs new young followers. They need welcoming and not to have their different interests berated (they won't like 1950s music, why would they think that a 1950s design model aircraft is interesting?) with age and experience will come a broadening of interests. Regarding the BMFA, I'll keep quiet. Compare British events with the flitefest event put on by the flitetest people, that has young participants and makes the hobby popular and relevent. A show that gets 1000 visitors cannot be a failure, especially in the current climate. Hopefully the organisers will continue, well done to them. Aeromodelling is a great hobby, it is multifaceted and offers so many avenues for participation, embrace all and make every newbie welcome.

👍👍👍

Do you think those antennas are the problem

I think it's a dieing hobby, kids these days are not interested living in the real world! It's all TicTok, snap chat - what ever the ---- that is. I am 41 and I think I will be the last generation of model builders/flyers. Where will the hobby be in 25 years? The last show I went to was wings and wheels. The models flying there were bloody massive or expensive models. Not many can afford them and are not relatable to potential new flyers! I remember the Plumpton show, normal people flying normal models, back in the 80s/90s. I Although the BMFA are not great, they are much much better than they used to be. And I do think they are trying - but how can they do more?

That's the way the hobby is going, down hill. Now flyers go and order an all included foamie off the internet charge it up and fly a few times and chuck it in the garbage. No real interest and with stabilizers and lots of electronic flying aids they don't need to learn much.

It would be nice if you turned up at a flying club as a visitor and were made to feel welcome instead of a bloody nuisance for watching.

Fair rant. Point made. ACCEPTED

Personally I would agree with some but not all your comments. Popham is new and takes time to establish a show speaking from personal experience of organising shows in the past. I only was made aware of it when I popped into Balsa Cabin a couple of weeks ago. So yes advertising could ve been better. We cannot compare shows of today with those of 80s, 90s etc because the world is different, but equally look at current cost of living impact. The whole SMAE/BMFA argument is 20+ years out of date now, but I do know that we have to consider how we are understood/perceived by others ie local government/press etc. As for new blood well as a Club Instructor I have trainees over past few years alone ranging from 8 to OAP.! But I do agree we need to encourage more youth unfortunately recent legislation changes is one of the hurdles that discourage youth and importantly schools and youth clubs, cadets etc. I am speaking from experience as a STEM Ambassador where it has been a factor.

All the shows are not the same now. You get the die hard fliers that go religiously but the normal guys that are into RC of all catagories go to watch the demos and the stalls but the stalls don't go anymore that's because it's not xxx worth it for them. Can't sell cheap enough because of online, will earn more at the shop on staurday. Pitch fee, travel fee, any discoun t etc. And I get that and agree. Also commentary is dire now, dB sound was excently. Lastly the hobby is dying youngsters of today are just not interested in the amount needed. You might get the ones that like jets or 3d heli but these are not scale builders or builders full stop. The most popular thing is drones now, these kill RC full stop. No building, no clubs, it's done alone etc. 20 years time and the hobby will be a pity full thing in the UK, the US with the population and area to use will be different. Uk it's all over. One last note BMFA is a joke and waste of time, their heads are in the sand. What do they really do apart from provide insurance? Would they be missed

PS do you have a PO Box to send goodies to?

Guess you are right no one to follow ,please moderate the language you have a lot to offer 🤖

Would have been better if you could have done it without all the swearing.